Breeze
by Iris1
Summary: A one-shot, character-oriented Usa-Mamo alternate reality fic. Waffy ( warm and fuzzy ) and somewhat slow, since action is slower than an asthmatic ant with heavy shopping. (^_^) The plot? Dreams, treehouses, and changes in the wind.


  
Konnichi wa minna, Iris-san desu. I hope you enjoy this strange little   
alternate-reality story. Author's notes at the end. O-tanoshimi ni.  
  
______________________________________________________________________  
  
Breeze  
by Iris  
kanzaki_yukiko@y...  
Rated G  
______________________________________________________________________  
  
Kaze : Aki no Kaeru  
Breeze : Changes of Autumn  
______________________________________________________________________  
  
  
I want to become a bird and soar through the skies  
Aiming towards my hopes in the far distance  
If I look down I see myself there, so small  
I wonder if we're just living for nothing...  
  
If I can gaze at everything this way  
Nothing can hurt me and I won't be afraid of tomorrow  
  
I want to ride the wind, flying towards my dreams in the  
distance  
To put on the wings of courage  
I want to become a bird, continuing to hold this commanding   
heart  
To never lose to the reality of every day  
  
Like a beast trying to choose a steep road  
If I can scent out the right one, I will not fall  
But as for human beings... it seems we can only get ourselves  
lost  
We don't possess the strength to battle loneliness  
  
I want to ride the wind, surely heading towards my dreams in   
the distance  
To devote myself to courageous visions  
Even more than beasts, I too can still walk the steep roads  
Without losing my undefeatable heart  
If this tiny me is able to find something  
Nothing can hurt me and I won't be afraid of tomorrow  
  
  
- Breeze   
By Megumi Hayashibara   
Slayers Try Opening Theme  
______________________________________________________________________  
  
Usagi was dreaming.   
  
She knew she was dreaming, and that in itself was peculiar   
enough, but what was even stranger was the fact that she knew it   
wasn't just any ordinary dream.  
  
Something ... _someone_ was calling her, _needing_, _wanting_   
her with a desperate longing that frightened her. Some remote, alien  
part deep within her mind responded to the call with equal passion,  
seething with frustration and impatience, urgently insisting,   
clamorously _demanding_ that her body start to move towards the call   
... and more specifically, the _person_ who was making the call, even   
while the normal, everyday part of her was busy staring around herself  
and being afraid.  
  
Mist.   
  
Mist everywhere, a pearly grey vapor that snaked and twisted   
sinuously across her vision, curling and billowing around her slender   
body like smoke, gripping her soft flesh with cold, insubstantial   
fingers. She suddenly realized that she was wearing a white nightgown   
... no, a dress. A ball-gown, to be specific. A long, flowing dress   
made from some gauzy, gossamer-like material that shimmered, a pale,   
opalescent white in the dim light, and clung to the gentle curves of   
her willowy body, flaring out from her slim waist into a full,   
billowy skirt. It was ... beautiful. A ... a princess dress. But it   
did nothing to protect her against the severe chill of the frost   
which bit painfully through the filmy white cloth.  
  
" E..en....dy...mion... " Soft lips quivered as they   
struggled unwillingly to form the unfamiliar word, whispering as if   
terrified to shatter the fragile reality of the dream. The faint   
sound echoed weakly into the murky blackness and became devoured by   
the tomb-like silence. Even the rapid thudding of her heart seemed   
muted, as if all sound was being smothered, stifled by the heavy   
mantle of darkness.  
  
Eyes.   
  
There was something out there, watching her. Dark shapes that   
writhed grotesquely in the blackness; by the goosebumps that rose in   
patches on her skin, Usagi could tell that whoever it was, its   
intentions were _not_ friendly. Her body stiffened instinctively,   
limbs freezing like those of a startled deer, mesmerized by the   
gleaming car head-lights rushing towards it. Somehow, she sensed that   
it was _not_ the one who was calling her. This was something ...   
Other; a strange, foreign entity, who had invaded the domains of her   
dream.   
  
Undeniably hostile. And curiously female.  
  
She could _feel_ it. Pulsing waves of pure, undiluted hatred,  
that she had never felt before in all fourteen years of her life,   
emanated from those eyes - and engulfed her, threatening to drown her   
in its sheer intensity and overwhelming volume, sending chills down   
her spine which even the biting cold could not. A soft, animal-like   
whimper escaped from her lips, her arms coming up involuntarily to   
wrap around her willowy body as if to protect herself against the   
thing.   
  
The normal, ordinary fouteen-year-old Tsukino Usagi part of   
her was cowering in fright, cringing and urging her leaden legs to   
move, to do _anything_ , anything that would just ... just ... get   
her away.   
  
The other part, that strange, alien part of her, was cool and   
calm, although Usagi could tell that it was just as afraid. But it   
commanded her to stand still, to face the enemy bravely.   
  
Not that Usagi could have done anything else. She was rooted   
to the spot, her knees suddenly as weak as jelly, her body swaying   
slightly as she strived to keep her calm, her sanity.  
  
But then the next moment something happened that banished all  
other thoughts.   
  
Something ... someone was coming through the mist.   
  
______________________________________________________________________  
  
  
Light.   
It flooded in pools on the wooden planks, and spilled like   
golden-warm honey over a small girl with hair that was the exact   
same color. It caressed her face gently, as if she was some glass   
statue too fragile to touch roughly, warming the soft planes of her   
sculpted cheekbones, highlighting each silken strand of gleaming blond  
hair that spread in two lustrous streamers of glossy gold on the   
coarse white linen surface of the futon she was sprawled across.   
  
Two blue orbs glittering like sapphire jewels fixed their hard  
gaze on the petite figure bathed in sunlight, softening as they  
lingered tenderly over her round, pixiesh face with its tiny button  
nose and perfect bow mouth. Loose tendrils of wispy golden hair that  
had escaped from her ponytails curled against the delicate contours   
of her face, and his fingers twitched slightly as he struggled   
against the almost irresistible impulse to brush the silken threads   
back from her soft, creamy skin.  
  
She was asleep, one small hand still loosely clutching a   
pencil within long, slim fingers, the other lying lightly on her flat   
midriff. The balmy late afternoon breeze flipped the pages of the   
thick textbook next to her carelessly, making a rhythmic flapping   
sound that seemed to be in harmonic tune with the dry rustling of the   
green oak leaves, the soft chirping of insects, and the distant   
murmur of the sea ...  
Rosy pink lips were slightly parted as her mouth hung open  
childishly. Dusky-hued lids hid her eyes, long, dark lashes   
fluttering as she breathed, chest rising and falling softly as she   
drowsed in sweet slumber. In sleep she was still as she rarely was   
when awake - a pain-stakingly crafted, perfectly carved marble statue   
bronzed with golden light, sleeping within an eternal dream, waiting   
only for her prince to wake her up with a kiss ...  
  
His mind reflexively recoiled away from such thoughts, auto-  
matically moving away to safer areas. He wondered if she was dreaming.  
Something girlishly innocent, no doubt. Rabbits and sunlight and the   
sticky-sweet rice cakes that she had so happily munched on for   
lunch ...   
  
The breeze was warm and soft.  
______________________________________________________________________  
  
  
' Who are you ? ' the question flashed through her mind.  
The other part of her supplied the answer immediately to her  
lips, as if in an instinctive response.  
  
" My prince. "   
  
The words were in her brain before she could even wonder who  
said them. The banks of mist receded, and she saw a glimmering   
firefly light in the distance. Startled blue eyes caught the dark,   
arresting silhouette of a boy ... no, a young man. Tall and lean, he   
was a whole head taller than her, lithe and smoothly muscled like   
some large black cat. Dark walls loomed mysteriously over him in the   
shadowy background, and she could barely make out a seemingly endless   
flight of stairs before her. He stood above her, at the base of some   
enormous building ... a .. palace ... which towered intimidatingly   
before her, tall, delicate spires of white marble spiraling almost   
endlessly into the soaring heights of the black, starless sky.   
He moved with fleet panther-like grace, even though his step   
was quick, his stride hurried, and his long cape swirled dramatically  
behind him as he lunged hastily down the marble steps ...  
  
" Where are you ? Where are you ? "   
  
His voice startled her, sending new shivers down her spine.   
But this time, the chills were not of fright. More of ...   
anticipation. His voice ... it was so ... so _desperate_, so swollen   
with distress and agitation, filled with so much seething emotion. He   
called again, this time with even more hopeless despair in his voice   
than before. And that strange, foreign part of her, from which the   
normal Usagi was somehow separate and yet the same, answered.  
  
" My love. "   
The words flew from her mouth before she could take them back.  
But even as she drew in a sharp breath, he turned and saw her.   
And stopped short.   
  
" Serenity. " he whispered hoarsely. And the sound of that   
word ... a name ? ... which was so strange and yet so familiar, made   
the hairs at the base of her neck tingle. And yet, it wasn't the word   
that made her start. It had been ... it had been the _way_ he had   
said it. She had never heard anyone say anything with the same dark   
relief and helpless wonder, the same possessive longing, the same   
euphoric joy all compressed and combined into the syllables of one   
single word. As if that word in itself meant everything in the world   
to him. It made her ears go hot, as if she wasn't meant to hear   
someone speak like that. Her pounding heart skipped a beat as she   
peered into the gloomy darkness and mist.   
  
His face was obscured by shadows, yet somehow, Usagi could   
tell that he was staring at her. Staring at her as if she was the most  
important, most precious thing in the universe to him, as if he had   
been searching hopelessly for her for an eternity until he'd almost   
abandoned all hope and given up. She was too astonished to move as he   
suddenly erupted from stillness, like a statue suddenly come to life.   
In a few long steps he was in front of her, his hands closing on her   
thin shoulders possessively with an iron grip that was at once both   
gentle and overpoweringly intimate.  
  
Usagi was dizzy with confusion, her head swirling in dazed,  
delicious bewilderment. There was something about his touch that   
somehow seemed overwhelmingly familiar and safe. She initially shrank   
back from his touch in maidenly alarm, faint shudders moving down her   
spine, but then a feeling of peace and security, of .... _belonging_   
washed over her like a gentle wave of warmth, soothing her frayed   
nerves. He wrapped strong arms around her, burying his head into the   
golden curtain of her hair, hoarsely repeating the same word over and   
over again.   
Her suddenly flushed cheek was pressed against the hard,   
smooth metal surface of armour, the cool smell of steel and   
inexplicable fragrance of roses mingling incongrously in her   
nostrils. Even through the armour she could somehow sense the rapid   
thumping of his heart-beat, and his breath was ragged with relief as   
he held her close within a tight embrace. Her blood burned with the   
overwhelming urge to see the face of this stranger, and she   
cautiously tilted her head up slowly.   
  
" Anata wa .. dare ? " she whispered.  
  
Like the stroke of midnight on Cinderella's ball, the   
question shattered the dream reality into a million glittering shards   
of glass. Grey banks of fog rolled in again, quick and silent,   
muffling her voice, wrapping everything within a pearly cocoon of   
intangible smoke. The warm, solid body that was pressed against hers   
suddenly seemed unreal and immaterial, as if it were made of the mist   
itself. And then ... he was gone.  
  
Her hands held only empty air.   
And she was alone.   
  
Suddenly, there flared a fluorescent white glow in the   
distance, and her arms automatically came up to shield her eyes from  
the incandescent glare as the scintillatingly brilliant light grew,   
blinding her vision with white ... gradually, the blazing beacon   
melted away ...  
  
And then she was falling .... tumbling helplessly as she   
plummeted weightlessly towards the dark, unknown depths of a   
bottomless abyss ...   
  
Sinking like a stone ...   
Plunging ... into ...   
  
... Light ...  
  
______________________________________________________________________  
  
  
Azure eyes that mirrored the color of the morning sky flew   
open instantly, silver-blue irises flaring painfully as they adjusted   
reluctantly to the brightness of the dappled sunlight that filtered   
through the emerald green leaves to caress her bare arms and legs. A   
fuzzy golden haze seemed to cloud over her vision, the hot sunshine   
coating everything in a burnished sheen of gold, and she pulled   
herself up on her elbows lazily.   
There was someone before her. A little smile played on her   
lips as she stared dreamily at the tall, strong build of the striking   
figure who poetically knelt on one bent knee before her.   
  
He was crouched at the opening of the tree-house, directly in  
the path of the rays which streamed in from behind him. His face was  
half-lit and half-shadowed, the sunlight creating a yellow halo around  
his onyx-dark hair. Her dazed mind briefly mused that he seemed   
awfully familiar, then quickly shrugged the thought off, content to   
just gaze at him, afraid that if she spoke, the spell would be broken   
again. Her prince leaned closer, shifting slightly, and the golden   
light caught the aquiline planes of his face for one brief instant.  
  
He was beautiful.   
He was an angel.   
He was ...  
  
Chiba Mamoru.  
  
Oh.  
  
The realization was like a bucket of icy-cold water dumped   
over her consciousness. Her eyes widened in startlement, and she awoke  
fully as reality swiftly sank into her sluggish mind, shaking off   
the lingering shreds of dreams that clung to her memory persistently.  
  
Dark indigo blue eyes gazed down at her mockingly, a   
mischievous twinkle of amusement glinting in their midnight blue   
depths as a corner of his chiseled lips tweaked upwards in the quirky   
smile she was so familiar with.   
  
" What's the matter, sleeping beauty ? Were you waiting for   
your prince to wake you up with a kiss ? "  
  
His voice was as deep and rich as mahogany, but its tone was  
teasing, taunting her, his words scathing her like a drop of hot water  
scalding a hissing cat.   
  
______________________________________________________________________  
  
  
He watched in amusement as a red sheen of anger creep across   
her translucent skin. He remembered that pink flush from the old   
days. It actually made her look even prettier, if that was possible.   
The color brought out the golden highlights in her blond hair, which   
was now disheveled messily in two loose ponytails. Her eyes sparkled   
with indignant energy, flashing sky-blue fire as steam evaporated   
from her ears in a potent mixture of both fury and embarrassment.   
  
For which he was grateful for.  
  
Mamoru grinned impudently in that maddening way which he knew   
irritated her to no end. He settled in more comfortably at the edge of  
the opening, leaning against the wooden wall, swinging one long,   
denim-encased leg to dangle off from the treehouse.   
Behind him, he could hear Usagi splutter with incoherent  
fury and his lips curled in a content grin as he closed his eyes and  
listened to her ranting, letting the sunlight fall on his lids. The  
tension slowly seeped out from his shoulders as his body relaxed from  
the tautness it had been drawn to.  
  
He had been startled when she had suddenly murmured something  
in her sleep. And then she'd awoken so suddenly. He had become even  
more boggled when she had just simply stared at him, almost groggy  
from sleep, that strange, undecipherable look in her eyes glazed a   
glassy, almost transparent blue.   
Usually they were chips of hard china when she glared at him  
for teasing her, a bright jewel blue shining almost aquamarine in the  
light like lapis lazuli whenever she bestowed a bright smile at   
someone.   
  
Just now though, when she had looked at him, they had seemed   
to soften, the color fading, lightening to the palest possible shade   
of purest crystalline blue, like the faintest streak of silvery-blue   
that colored the sky just before sunrise. Fascinated, his breath had   
caught in his throat, and he had leaned in closer, to inspect the   
little flecks of silver swimming in the blue skies of her eyes.  
  
Until she had snapped out of that trance.  
  
And Mamoru couldn't quite decide whether that strange feeling   
in his chest had been relief or disappointment ...  
  
It was as if some spell that held them both in thrall had been  
broken. All of a sudden she transformed back into Odango Atama again,   
the girl next door who was like a ... a little sister to him. She was   
cute, could perhaps be even considered pretty, but she wasn't   
beautiful. Nah. Logic and common sense persuaded him that it had been   
just one of those Inexplicable-Unexplainable-Stop-Thinking-Anymore-  
About-This Mysteries-Of-The-Universe.   
  
Now, if only he could convince his racing nerves of that   
fact ...   
  
His lips twitched in amusement as he heard the loud " Hhhrrru-  
mmppphhh " of exasperation when she realized that he wasn't paying her  
any attention, and the deliberate stomping of her feet as she gathered  
her stationery haphazardly off the futon and flounced to the other   
side of the treehouse, flinging herself heavily with a muffled thump   
onto a soft pile of cushions. His ears picked up the sound of pages   
being flipped decisively and he concluded that she was attempting to   
get back to the studying she had been doing before she'd fallen   
asleep. Even with his eyes closed, he could picture that adorable   
pout of hers in his mind's eye as she muttered loudly about certain   
conceited boys-next-door who had nothing to do except to vex nice,   
cute blonde girls who were _doomed_ to do tons of stupid holiday   
homework that would probably be of absolutely _no_ practical use in   
real life anyway and ....  
  
The slits of his eyes opened just a fraction as he peeked out   
furtively from the corner of his eye. Her small frame was buried   
within a pile of beanie cushions, tacky plush toys and manga. If   
anything, Mamoru's grin widened even more at the sight of Usagi's "   
corner " in the tree-house.   
  
The old oak tree reached its limbs above the surrounding walls  
in search of sunlight ; the upper branches dancing in the cool   
afternoon breezes. The small wooden tree-house, nestled snugly within   
the gnarled main branches, smacked of schizophrenia.   
  
One side was immaculately, flawlessly neat, with thick books   
stacked alphabetically within a small, polished wood cabinet that had   
taken Motoki-kun and him an hour of strenuous huffing and puffing to   
get up the tree. A small clock-radio rested happily on the dark   
cherry wood of the cabinet besides a tiny, carefully trimmed Bonsai   
bush. The only other indications of personality were a beautifully   
carved pink marble chess set and a colorful bowl with a scented   
candle in it which could be refilled.  
Mamoru recalled in fond amusement how Usagi had wrinkled her   
dainty nose in disapproval at the books in the cabinet. " Topics in   
Bio-chemistry, " she read out aloud, the dubious expression that   
contorted her delicate features displaying her emotions even more   
expressively than a muttered " yick " of distaste would have. What   
she didn't know, however, was that, buried behind the first row of   
textbooks, was a collection of haiku poetry that would have made her   
blush all sorts of interesting colors if he ever read them to her ...   
excluding the fact that she actually _understood_ the haikus of   
course ....  
  
Usagi's " corner " couldn't have been more different if it had  
been deliberately planned. It looked as if a volcano had erupted   
beneath a mountain of plump, colorful cushions, plush toys of all   
shapes and sizes as well as gaudy knick-knacks of all kinds.   
The two empty milk crates piled next to his wooden cabinet   
were _meant_ to contain her manga, but most of the books were now   
scattered over the thick white futon mattress. Fragrant potpourri   
scented her corner strongly, and the walls were liberally plastered   
with gigantic posters of whatever idol singers that were in vogue   
then, as well as colorful, glossy photographs of herself and her   
friends.   
The simple austerity of one side made a stark contrast to the   
youthful, girlish exuberance of the other.  
  
Mamoru's thoughts wandered from their idle survey of his   
surroundings back to focus on the girl herself, and he mused for a   
moment how she always managed to get his thoughts spiralling off on   
some kind of tangent.  
  
One small hand propped up her head, the other deftly twirling   
a blue pen as she frowned in puzzled concentration over the   
complicated questions in her Mathematics textbook. A pert nose   
scrunched up in frustration before she suddenly sighed heavily,   
blowing her blond bangs up in a puff of mock-aggravation before   
leaning back against the wall, randomly grabbing a stuffed toy from   
her side before hugging a large Ranma-doll to her chin, apparently   
arriving at the final decision to completely give up on ever   
deciphering the equations.  
  
Her beautiful blue eyes seemed to be lost in thought as she   
contemplated something pensively. There was something so innocent   
about her, it made his heart split wide open. Warmth seemed to flow   
right out of her, making Mamoru feel comfortable and safe. He couldn't  
think of anywhere else in the world that he wanted to be at this very  
moment. Mamoru smiled with rare contentment, feeling the tingle of   
the sunlight on his skin, and he turned his head to stare out at the   
blue, blue sky through the green crown of rustling oak leaves. He   
took a deep breath of the warm air, which smelled of wild-grasses and   
the salty tang of the sea. To the right, he could see the sun slowly   
settling into the white-tipped peaks of the nearby moutains in a   
blaze of golden light, reddish rays flooding across the top of the   
valley, illuminating the treetops like a crown of moss-green jewels.   
On the left he could make out the blurred shimmer of light dancing on   
the turquiose-blue waters of the sighing sea.  
  
Today would be the second-last day of the summer holidays.  
  
Within fourty-eight hours the first day of the autumn term in   
Moto Azabu High School would begin.  
  
Summer had once stretched out in front of Mamoru a month ago,  
hot and gold and resplendent in all its rich glory. Time seemed to   
have slipped past him so quickly ... like gravelly golden sand   
through his fingers ... Now it would be autumn soon and they would   
have to leave Yumi Oba-san's home ... leave Furikawa tomorow and   
return back to Tokyo ... It had been a fun vacation .. if only   
perhaps just a _tad_ too eventful ...  
The sky seemed bluer today, an endless expanse of bright,  
unending color that stretched over the horizon. They reminded him ...  
of a certain pair of blue eyes ...  
  
A fierce yet gentle emotion suddenly surged in his chest - a  
strong, simple wish that things wouldn't change, would always remain  
the same as now ... Mamoru had never been one for changes. He   
preferred being rooted to the ground, surrounding himself with   
familiarity and stability. He wondered if that was a side effect of   
being an orphan when he was young.   
He had a family now. A warm, caring family who never treated   
him as if he was a burden, as if he was just an adopted child ... a   
few close friends ... and his princess ...  
  
He wished that time would just freeze still ... forever ...   
capturing this one instant of time which was uncomplicated and simple  
and familiar ... At this particular moment where he felt at peace with  
himself. And the world. He tried to analyze the feelings he was   
currently experiencing, but it seemed to be made up of too many   
things ...  
  
Sunlight ... summer ending ... blue sky ... tuneful bird song  
...  
  
And a girl who seemed to be composed from of all of those   
things and more...  
  
The breeze carressed his cheek lovingly.  
______________________________________________________________________  
  
  
Normally, Usagi did not bother analyzing her dreams. That was   
mostly due to the fact that the young girl usually dreamt simple,   
ordinary dreams - emerald-bright meadows dotted with fresh, fragrant   
wildflowers, where adorable white rabbits hopped around, or bright,   
colorful candy lands where she gorged herself fat on treacly sweet   
confections ... sometimes they were dreams of her current crush who   
would whisper sweet nothings to her and tell her that she was the   
most beautiful girl in the world. Occasionally, she would have   
morbidly funny nightmares about her bad school grades, the world   
running out of Chocolate Delight ice-cream or her teachers and   
parents tag-teaming up to rebuke her ... but _never_, _never_   
anything as strange as that particular dream.  
  
Even now she struggled to remember the phantom-like wisps of  
the dream which was fading away in incorporeal vagueness ...   
  
Baka Mamoru.   
  
Her eyes narrowed as she glared daggers at the ignorant   
figure before her who was staring out at the sky, innocently unaware   
of her venomous gaze. How dare he tease her ?   
And to think that she'd put up with him for ten years. Ten   
whole years. It sounded like such a long time, almost an eternity for   
a girl her age, and yet it had happened in a flash. Ten years with an   
infuriating boy who always teased her, bullying her when they were   
young, constantly mocking her about her weird hairstyle, calling her   
embarrasing names like Odango Atama, making mean comments about her   
childish ways, her lack of grace and eye-to-hand-to-foot co-  
ordination, her bad grades, her .... ahem .... Usagi had the grace   
to blush as she mentally recited the litany of faults in her mind.  
  
And yet ... and yet ...  
  
A tiny little smile unconsciously curled her rosy lips as she   
oh-so-discreetly peeked at him from the corner of her eye, blue gaze   
travelling slowly down the lean, classically sculpted profile whose   
sharp planes were now softened by the golden glow of the sun in the   
distance. The old, dismally stretched white t-shirt he wore flapped   
loosely in the cool breeze and his eyes were closed, dark bangs   
tumbling messily over his forehead, lulled almost into a half-sleep   
by the low, liquid crooning of the birds.   
  
He was a contradiction. A complete paradox. And a terrible  
teaser who always managed to aggravate her. Tempermental. Broody,   
with frequent bouts of mood swings. When he was in one of his darker   
moods, he would bite the head off anyone who tried to disturb him. He   
plagued her constantly, nettling her about her various faults. And   
yet he would never allow any other person badmouth her, as if he was   
the only one who had the sole right to do so. He had stood with her   
through the years, a strange, complicated but assuring constant   
through her life.   
In her mind's eye, she pictured him as a rock. A strong,   
safe, dependable rock that could be cold and hard at times, but that   
was warm and steady and comfortable after being heated by the sun's   
rays ...   
  
The image made her giggle.  
  
The silvery peal of laughter made him look up, startled, and   
Usagi laughed even harder at quzzical puzzlement written on his face.   
Her laughter faded away after a moment, strangled into a warm,   
lethargic sort of silence that the normally talkative girl felt   
strangely comfortable with. Blue eyes met each other, and similiar   
smiles crept onto their faces, each unaware of the golden picture   
they both painted.   
  
______________________________________________________________________  
  
  
Suddenly a harsh, icy swirl of wind swept through the tree-  
house, whipping Usagi's golden hair into a frenzy, causing their   
abruptly chilled skin to break out in patches of goosebumps. Masses of  
slate-grey clouds swallowed the sun for a moment, and dark shadows  
leapt into existence from the gloom. Within an instant the tree   
branches seemed to hover over the pair like gallow posts.   
  
A tiny shiver danced down Usagi's spine, an ominous feeling  
clutching at her stomach, and blue gazes slid away from each other,  
jolted harshly from that pleasant moment of light. Hugging the soft   
toy more tightly to her chest, she felt the lazy warmth dissipate into  
an awkward ice that she was helpless to recapture.   
  
Equally sombre, Mamoru jerked his gaze away, feeling strangely  
... well, spooked. It seemed almost as if some veil of darkness was  
conspiring to keep him seperate and alone, jealous of that moment of   
warm, casual intimacy between him and her, a child of light. His lips  
curved down in a frown at the sheer silliness of that ridiculous   
thought.   
  
The breeze was cold now.   
  
For a minute, all was silent, and only the low, mournful tune  
of the wind could be heard whistling in their ears. Even the sweet   
crooning of the birds and the shrill chirping of cicidas seemed to be  
muted into silence.  
  
All of a sudden, a young, annoyingly familiar boyish voice   
pierced the strained silence ringingly, shattering the uncomfortable   
tension with a loud, childish chant :   
  
" MAMORU AND USAGI SITTING IN A TREE !  
K-I-S-S-I-N-G ! "  
  
" NNAAA....NAAANNNNIIII ??!!!! "   
Usagi screeched in shock, face reddening until it resembled   
an overipe tomato, her girlish voice spluttering in embarrassment.   
The searing heat burning his own cheeks informed Mamoru that he was   
probably suffering from similiar exposure to nuclear-radiation as   
well. Usagi leapt frantically up in an eruption of cushions and   
stuffed dolls, ready to do her civic Onee-sama duty ie. pound the   
crap out of her brother.   
  
Unfortunately, she forgot the fact that her stationery was  
scattered over the floor. Inevitably, one small foot stumbled over a  
stray pencil and the petite blonde was sent cartwheeling with a small  
shriek over ... into a pair of strong arms.  
  
______________________________________________________________________  
  
  
Mamoru grunted in mock-pain from the slight weight in his   
arms, looking down at her from beneath the tumble of dark hair   
shadowing his eyes. Startled azure eyes smiled into his own   
gratefully, and strangely he felt something stir in his chest, the   
way the wind stirred the emerald leaves of the oak tree.   
  
She was so small ... barely reaching his chin ; so warm, as   
if he had somehow captured a ray of golden sunlight in his arms,   
so ... soft ... her hair like honey-gold silk spilling over his   
arms ...   
  
He had the curious sensation that catching her could be a   
habit that he wouldn't mind getting used to ... Her tiny face was   
only mere inches from his ...   
  
" Daijoubu ka ? " he asked, low voice unusually gentle and   
husky. Her golden head bobbed up and down enthusiastically in an   
affirmative nod, and she looked up at him appreciatively, a small   
smile lighting up her face with a glow that even sunlight could not   
produce ...   
  
" Arigatou, Mamoru-chan, " she replied sweetly.   
  
Dimly he could feel himself slowly leaning in closer as if   
instinctively guided by invisible hands ...  
  
" FIRST COMES KISSING,  
THEN COMES MARRIAGE,  
AND THEN BAKA USAGI WILL BE WALKING DOWN THE  
STREET WITH A BABY CARRIAGE !! "  
  
The jeering, high-pitched voice of a young boy below the tree-  
house continued singing the silly little ditty, breaking that   
strange, dreamy mood, jerking both Mamoru and Usagi from their slight   
trance. Quickly, as if in an immediate reaction, Usagi pulled away   
from his embrace. Instantly, Mamoru's body protested the loss of   
warmth, and his arms relucantly released their hold on her.   
Somehow ... he felt almost ... peeved at Shingo ...  
  
  
" SSSHHIINNNNGGGGOOOO !!! JUST WAIT TILL I GET YOU !! "   
  
Mamoru hastily stepped back, clamping his hands on his ears   
before he became deaf from the sheer volume of her seething   
battle-yell. Growling savagely in anger, Usagi scrambled clumsily   
down the rungs of the swinging rope ladder, nearly entangling herself   
in the process. Steam evaporated off her head like a whistling kettle   
as she chased a short, laughing ten-year-old boy with a thick thatch   
of sandy brown hair and freckles lightly smattered over his nose and   
cheeks, across the yard. The young boy's dark blue-green eyes danced   
in playful mirth as he mockingly poked an insulting tongue out at his   
fuming Onee-chan in her vain pursuit, always keeping one teasing step   
in front of her.  
  
Watching the comical scene play out beneath him like a piece   
from some sitcom show, Mamoru burst out laughing. Suddenly he felt as   
light and carefree as a seagull cavorting on a ocean breeze. Somehow,   
he could still feel the lingering warmth of a small, soft body   
pressed against his, the silky smoothness of spun gold brushing his   
skin and the sweet scent of lavender and jasmine ...  
  
Perhaps ...  
Perhaps some changes _were_ for the better ...  
  
" COME BACK HERE YOU LITTLE RUNT !! I'M GONNA SKIN YO - AAARR  
RGGGHHHH !! I'LL GET YOU FOR THAT !!!!! "  
  
Sweatdrop. ( _ ; )  
  
And maybe some things never changed after all.  
  
The breeze continued singing into the azure sky, its wistful   
song of autumn change threading a golden melody through their hearts.  
  
______________________________________________________________________  
  
Glossary :   
  
Anata wa dare - Who are you  
Nani - What  
Onee-sama / Onee-chan - Older sister   
Daijoubu - Are you okay  
Arigatou - Thanks  
______________________________________________________________________  
  
Author's Notes :  
  
So minna, what did you think ? This is perhaps the longest story that   
I've written yet. It's not really a proper story, as in a lot of stuff  
are let unexplained, and the ending and opening were both left open to  
lots of possibilities. The ' breeze ' actually symbolises a lot of   
what Mamoru feels. I especially love the Slayers Try song "Breeze", which I thought it fit the general mood of the story pretty well.   
Megumi Hayashibara is the seiyuu for Lina Inverse and my ultimate   
favourite.   
  
The inspiration for this story all started with a scene of Mamoru   
watching Usagi while she was asleep. I felt that this story was   
actually like describing the scenes in an episode of some anime   
series. Anyway, I would love to know what you thought of it. Mamoru   
and Usagi are childhood friends in this alternate reality. But who's   
Yumi Oba-san ? Where _is_ Furikawa anyway? And why do Mamoru and   
Usagi have a TREEHOUSE together ? Fushigi da ne. Issues which might   
remain unanswered due to a lazy writer who can't seem to gather the   
inspiration to continue a sequel. *sweatdrop*  
  
My e-mail box is rather empty these days and I'd like to hear some   
criticism. ( ^ _ ^ ) So tell me what you thought of the story. Sorry   
if it was rather slow-moving and boring, but I did put in some heart   
and effort into this piece, and I sincerely hope that you enjoyed it.   
Arigato minna-san.   
Ja ne !  
Iris ( ^ _ ^ )  
  
______________________________________________________________________ 


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